I remember watching a movie in which the main character was asked several times if he knew how to do certain things. “Do you know how to sword fight? Do you know how to fly a plane? Do you know how to play the guitar? Do you know how to Kung Fu fight?” When he was asked if knew how to do a certain thing he would say, “I’ve never done it, but I’ve read a book about it.” He then would proceed to do the action with great skill.
For example, he was about to be attacked by men who were fighting with martial arts and the girl in the film said, “Do you know Kung Fu?” To which he replies, “No I’ve never done it, but I read a book about it.” He proceeded to jump into the quarrel and fight with the skillfulness of a black belt, just as if he had done it all his life.
If only it were possible to read a book and then know exactly how to do something! There would be a lot of books I would be reading… weight loss for one!
What does this have to do with Teen Challenge? I’m glad you asked.
We have the students read and learn about biblical principles, thoughts, beliefs and behavior. They read “The Book” about it but does that automatically translate to knowing how to do it? The answer is a resounding NO! They must see how it applies to their lives; how it is relevant to them. How do they move from reading about a subject such as forgiveness, to actually doing it? How does forgiveness become more than an idea?
- Learning the information is important. The truth, the theology is foundational.
- They must believe it. If you do not believe a certain thing is true you will not act on it or try to integrate it into your life. This is where faith comes in. They must believe enough to surrender their lives to that truth.
- They must understand how it relates to them, how it is relevant. Why do I need to learn and do this and implement it into my life?
- This is where the teachers, other staff, and curriculum are important. You can communicate relevance through stories, biblical illustrations, modern illustrations, videos, personal stories, etc. Make it real.
- You must model it. I took a taekwondo class once (I only went a few times, so don’t worry.) What was the number one thing the instructor did? He showed us how to do it! He demonstrated each move several times. This is what discipleship is all about. Jesus said “Follow me…” You can preach it; you can teach it, but if they don’t see it in your life, forget it.
- Application. Put it to work. Put it into practice.
- Personal application and goal setting are key components of the TC curriculum. _________ grows as you use it. Fill in the blank, forgiveness, faith, patience, etc. You become more skilled with the sword and learn how to use and not use it as you practice. As you exercise gifts, fruit becomes stronger!
Practice means you fail sometimes. The novice sword fighter cuts himself from time to time, but he continues to improve. When I failed at a taekwondo movement the instructor did not kick me out of the class, rather he came along beside me and guided me to the correct position. Do we provide a safe environment for our students to fail? Do we coach them through the mistakes and failures?
Discipleship is holistic in that it does not take place JUST in the classroom. It involves every aspect of the ministry. Every staff member must see themselves as part of the discipleship process. The work supervisor, the night shift supervisor as well as the secretary and all others are all involved in modeling, coaching and teaching. The work program, interrelations with other students, authority and family members, recreation, free time are all “practice” places.
What does it take for a student to become skilled at Christian competencies? “…they were fast as lightning!”
